Office of Military Affairs

Howard County's Base of Operations for Fort Meade Growth

The Department of Defense (DOD) has proposed to develop a portion of Fort Meade as an operational complex for the National Security Agency (NSA) and overall intelligence community. DOD has released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on this growth. The EIS identifies and assesses the potential impacts associated with this proposed action and can be reviewed through the following link: DRAFT NSA EIS

Welcome to Howard County's home "base" for Fort Meade Growth information. This growth includes four components: Federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), National Security Agency, Extended Use Lease (EUL), and additional defense growth on Fort Meade not included in BRAC. This website has three primary goals:

To keep the residents and businesses of Howard County current on all the latest Fort Meade Growth information.

To inform and assist the many Government Service (GS) Civilians, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and government contractors that will be coming to live and/or work in Howard County.

To provide a communications platform between residents, prospective residents, businesses and the Howard County Government, so that we may continuously improve our support to all members of the Fort Meade Growth team.

WHY IS FORT MEADE GROWTH IMPORTANT TO HOWARD COUNTY?

Fort Meade is the largest employer for Howard County residents with more than 12,000 employees commuting to the installation for work each day. While there will be challenges as we plan for potential increases in infrastructure requirements, residents and businesses of Howard County and the region will benefit from the positive economic impact of Fort Meade growth.

The families who choose to relocate to Maryland will become a welcome addition to our many communities. We must work together to make their transition as fruitful and painless as possible.